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Child marriage

Child marriage is a global problem that affect millions of children, mostly girls, across the world. Child marriage has numerous adverse effects on the overall well-being of children who are mentally, psychologically, emotionally and physical unfit for married life. It constitutes a violation of child rights and must be abolished. It deprives those involved of education and health services, the chance to learn skills and to develop their personalities.

Since girls are more likely to marry young than boys, and illiterate girls are significantly more at risk of child marriage; Save the Children works with gender transformative programmes that are focused to enroll and retain girls in schools.

Ending child marriage requires the joint effort of all organisations from community level to national and global level. Save the Children works in networks and in collaboration with different stakeholders and sees child marriage as a crosscutting issue that should be mainstreamed into all development work. A reduction in child marriage, FGM and sexual violence will reduce the levels of maternal and infant mortality due to under-age pregnancies and unsafe pregnancies and delivery.

Documents (256)

Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) faces very high levels of violence towards children and adolescents. In recent years, there has been a spike of violence, particularly involving boys- homicides often linked to gang activities and the migration of una

For the past six years, children in Syria have been bombed and starved. They have seen their friends and families die before their eyes or buried under the rubble of their homes. They have watched their schools and hospitals destroyed, been denied food, m

In recent years the conduct of war has changed dramatically; modern conflict often takes place in civilian areas, where the difference between combatants and non-combatants is not immediately clear. These changes have led to civilians becoming the primary

While many legal restrictions have been employed to address child marriage globally, as many as 7.5 million girls are married illegally each year. This has a profound impact on the girl, her family, and society as a whole. Child brides are associated with

The law in Côte d’Ivoire forbids any customary or religious marriage of children under 18 years old. However, 33% of girls are married by 18 and 10% by 15. Despite early progress in reducing the rate of child marriage in Côte d’Ivoire, in recent years thi

Violence against women and girls is a human rights violation of pandemic proportions that takes place in public and private spaces. This interactive platform by UN Women lets users explore the topics of Intimate Partner Violence, Sexual Violence and Haras

Islam and Christianity equally stress the importance of protecting children from all forms of violence. Realizing the significance of this message, Al-Azhar University and the Coptic Church of Egypt joined together with the United Nations Children's Fund

The first of its kind, Counting Pennies reviews official development assistance (ODA) to end violence against children. The report found that in 2015, total ODA spending was $174 billion and of that, less than 0.6 per cent was allocated to ending violence

Despite having the highest rates of child marriage worldwide, West Africa is severely underrepresented in qualitative studies about child marriage practices. Hence, few evidence-based solutions exist to address the persistent practice in the region. This

Sierra Leone has the 19th highest child marriage rate in the world, with 13% of girls married by age 15, and 39% by age 18. These statistics only provide a partial picture of the extent of the problem, as many young people enter unions that are not regist

Parents, communities and governments around the world are recognizing children’s rights to protection from physical punishment and to discipline that respects their dignity. Increasingly, parents are being advised to use “positive discipline”. But parents

2016 marked the 10th anniversary of the UN Secretary General’s Study on Violence against Children. In this progress report for December 2016, the Global Initiative to End All Corporal Punishment of Children presents global progress towards the prohibition

Publisher

Al-Azhar University, International Islamic Center for Population Studies and Research, Cairo (2) Apply Al-Azhar University, International Islamic Center for Population Studies and Research, Cairo filter

ODID, Oxford Department of International Development (1) Apply ODID, Oxford Department of International Development filter

Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (1) Apply Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights filter

Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Violence Against Children (1) Apply Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Violence Against Children filter

Office of the UN Special Representative of the Secretary General on Violence against Children (1) Apply Office of the UN Special Representative of the Secretary General on Violence against Children filter